Systems and methods for sharing content

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can determine a video being posted through a social networking system; one or more portions of the video to be compressed are determined; and the one or more portions of the video are compressed, wherein, upon being compressed, at least one frame corresponding to at least one of the portions is deleted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/846,099, filed on Dec. 18, 2017 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORSHARING CONTENT”, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present technology relates to the field of content sharing. Moreparticularly, the present technology relates to techniques for sharingcontent.

BACKGROUND

Users often utilize computing devices for a wide variety of purposes.Users can use their computing devices to, for example, interact with oneanother, access media content items, share media content items, andcreate media content items. In some cases, media content items can beprovided by members of a social networking system. The media contentitems can include one or a combination of text, images, videos, andaudio. The media content items may be published to the social networkingsystem for consumption by others.

Under conventional approaches, users may post various media contentitems to a social networking system. In general, media content itemsposted by a first user can be included in the respective content feedsof other users of the social networking system, for example, that have“followed” the first user. By following (or subscribing to) the firstuser, some or all content that is produced, or posted, by the first usermay be included in the respective content feeds of the following users.A user following the first user can simply unfollow the first user toprevent new content that is produced by the first user from beingincluded in the following user's content feed.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can include systems,methods, and non-transitory computer readable media configured todetermine a video being posted through a social networking system; oneor more portions of the video to be compressed are determined; and theone or more portions of the video are compressed, wherein, upon beingcompressed, at least one frame corresponding to at least one of theportions is deleted.

In some embodiments, wherein, upon being compressed, a respective lengthof time corresponding to each of the one or more portions is reduced.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to determine one or more portions of thevideo that contain audio determined to be human speech and designate oneor more remaining portions of the video for compression.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to determine one or more portions of thevideo that contain subject matter representing one or more pre-definedobjects and designate one or more remaining portions of the video forcompression.

In some embodiments, the pre-defined objects include human faces,individuals, activities, products, logos, animals, points of interest,or other concepts.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to determine at least one portion of thevideo in which at least one virtual sticker was inserted and designateone or more remaining portions of the video for compression.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to determine at least one portion of thevideo in which at least one virtual sticker was inserted and designatethe portion of the video for compression.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to determine at least one portion of thevideo during which a threshold angular movement was detected anddesignate the portion of the video for compression.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to delete at least one frame from each ofthe one or more portions of the video.

In some embodiments, the systems, methods, and non-transitory computerreadable media are configured to determine a set of frames in the videobased at least in part on a user selection.

It should be appreciated that many other features, applications,embodiments, and/or variations of the disclosed technology will beapparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following detaileddescription. Additional and/or alternative implementations of thestructures, systems, non-transitory computer readable media, and methodsdescribed herein can be employed without departing from the principlesof the disclosed technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system including an example contentprovider module, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example video compression module, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example selection module, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrates example interfaces, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system including anexample social networking system that can be utilized in variousscenarios, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a computer system or computing devicethat can be utilized in various scenarios, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

The figures depict various embodiments of the disclosed technology forpurposes of illustration only, wherein the figures use like referencenumerals to identify like elements. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated in the figures can be employedwithout departing from the principles of the disclosed technologydescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Approaches for Sharing Content

Users often utilize computing devices for a wide variety of purposes.Users can use their computing devices to, for example, interact with oneanother, access media content items, share media content items, andcreate media content items. In some cases, media content items can beprovided by members of a social networking system. The media contentitems can include one or a combination of text, images, videos, andaudio. The media content items may be published to the social networkingsystem for consumption by others.

Under conventional approaches, users may post various media contentitems to the social networking system. In general, media content itemsposted by a first user can be included in the respective content feedsof other users of the social networking system that have “followed” thefirst user. By following (or subscribing to) the first user, some or allcontent that is produced, or posted, by the first user may be includedin the respective content feeds of the users following the first user. Auser following the first user can prevent new content from the firstuser from being included in the user's content feed by simply“unfollowing” the first user.

In some instances, users may want to compress (or condense) videocontent being posted through the social networking system. For example,a user may want to compress some portions of a given video to emphasizeother, more interesting portions of the video. In another example, auser may want to compress less interesting portions of a video toaccommodate a length-based limit. For example, in some embodiments, thesocial networking system may restrict videos to be between 3 to 15seconds in length. In this example, a user posting a video having alength of 20 seconds will need to trim the video length before beingable to share the video through the social networking system.Conventional approaches typically do not permit users to selectivelycompress portions of videos. Accordingly, such conventional approachesmay not be effective in addressing these and other problems arising incomputer technology.

An improved approach rooted in computer technology overcomes theforegoing and other disadvantages associated with conventionalapproaches specifically arising in the realm of computer technology. Forexample, in some embodiments, a video being posted through a socialnetworking system can be determined; one or more portions of the videoto be compressed can be determined; and the one or more portions of thevideo can be compressed, wherein, upon being compressed, at least oneframe corresponding to at least one of the portions is deleted. Moredetails relating to the disclosed technology are provided below.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 including an example contentprovider module 102, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the content providermodule 102 can include a content module 104, a follow module 106, aninteraction module 108, a story module 110, and a video compressionmodule 112. In some instances, the example system 100 can include atleast one data store 114. The components (e.g., modules, elements, etc.)shown in this figure and all figures herein are exemplary only, andother implementations may include additional, fewer, integrated, ordifferent components. Some components may not be shown so as not toobscure relevant details.

In some embodiments, the content provider module 102 can be implemented,in part or in whole, as software, hardware, or any combination thereof.In general, a module as discussed herein can be associated withsoftware, hardware, or any combination thereof. In some implementations,one or more functions, tasks, and/or operations of modules can becarried out or performed by software routines, software processes,hardware, and/or any combination thereof. In some cases, the contentprovider module 102 or at least a portion thereof can be implementedusing one or more computing devices or systems that include one or moreservers, such as network servers or cloud servers. In some instances,the content provider module 102 can, in part or in whole, be implementedwithin or configured to operate in conjunction with a social networkingsystem (or service), such as the social networking system 630 of FIG. 6.In some instances, the content provider module 102 can be, in part or inwhole, implemented within or configured to operate in conjunction or beintegrated with a client computing device, such as the user device 610of FIG. 6. For example, the content provider module 102 can beimplemented as or within a dedicated application (e.g., app), a program,or an applet running on a user computing device or client computingsystem. The application incorporating or implementing instructions forperforming some, or all, functionality of the content provider module102 can be created by a developer. The application can be provided to ormaintained in a repository. In some cases, the application can beuploaded or otherwise transmitted over a network (e.g., Internet) to therepository. For example, a computing system (e.g., server) associatedwith or under control of the developer of the application can provide ortransmit the application to the repository. The repository can include,for example, an “app” store in which the application can be maintainedfor access or download by a user. In response to a command by the userto download the application, the application can be provided orotherwise transmitted over a network from the repository to a computingdevice associated with the user. For example, a computing system (e.g.,server) associated with or under control of an administrator of therepository can cause or permit the application to be transmitted to thecomputing device of the user so that the user can install and run theapplication. The developer of the application and the administrator ofthe repository can be different entities in some cases, but can be thesame entity in other cases. It should be understood that many variationsare possible.

The content provider module 102 can be configured to communicate and/oroperate with the at least one data store 114, as shown in the examplesystem 100. The at least one data store 114 can be configured to storeand maintain various types of data. For example, the data store 114 canstore information describing various content that has been posted byusers of a social networking system. In some implementations, the atleast one data store 114 can store information associated with thesocial networking system (e.g., the social networking system 630 of FIG.6). The information associated with the social networking system caninclude data about users, social connections, social interactions,locations, geo-fenced areas, maps, places, events, pages, groups, posts,communications, content, feeds, account settings, privacy settings, asocial graph, and various other types of data. In some implementations,the at least one data store 114 can store information associated withusers, such as user identifiers, user information, profile information,user specified settings, content produced or posted by users, andvarious other types of user data.

The content module 104 can be configured to provide users with access tocontent (e.g., media content items) that is available through a socialnetworking system. In some instances, this content can include mediacontent items that are posted in content feeds accessible through thesocial networking system. For example, the content module 104 canprovide a first user with access to media content items through aninterface that is provided by a software application (e.g., a socialnetworking application) running on a computing device of the first user.The first user can also interact with the interface to post mediacontent items to the social networking system. Such media content itemsmay include text, images, audio, and videos, for example. For example,the first user can submit a post to be published through the socialnetworking system. In some embodiments, the post can include, orreference, one or more media content items.

In various embodiments, other users of the social networking system canaccess media content items posted by the first user. In one example, theother users can access the media content items by searching for thefirst user by user name through an interface provided by a softwareapplication (e.g., a social networking application, browser, etc.)running on their respective computing devices. In some instances, someusers may want to see media content items posted by the first user intheir respective content feed. To cause media content items posted bythe first user to be included in their respective content feed, a usercan select an option through the interface to subscribe to, or “follow”,the first user. The follow module 106 can process the user's request byidentifying the user as a follower of (or “friend” of) the first user inthe social networking system. As a result, some or all media contentitems that are posted by the first user can automatically be included inthe respective content feed of the user. If the user decides that theyno longer want to see content from the first user in their respectivecontent feed, the user can select an option through the interface tounsubscribe from, or “unfollow”, the first user. As a result, the followmodule 106 can remove the association between the user and the firstuser so that media content items posted by the first user are no longerincluded in the content feed of the user.

In some instances, users may want to interact with posted media contentitems. For example, a user may want to endorse, or “like”, a mediacontent item. In this example, the user can select an option provided inthe interface to like the desired media content item. The interactionmodule 108 can determine when a user likes a given media content itemand can store information describing this relationship. The interactionmodule 108 can also determine when other forms of user interaction areperformed and can store information describing the interaction (e.g.,information describing the type of interaction, the identity of theuser, the identity of the user that posted the media content item, andthe media content item, to name some examples). For example, the usermay want to post a comment in response to a media content item. In thisexample, the user can select an option provided in the interface toenter and post the comment for the desired media content item. Theinteraction module 108 can determine when a user posts a comment inresponse to a given media content item and can store informationdescribing this relationship. Other forms of user interaction caninclude emoji-based reactions to a media content item (e.g., happy, sad,angry, etc.) and re-sharing a media content item, for example.

In some embodiments, the story module 110 can provide an option thatallows users to post their content as stories. In such embodiments, eachuser has a corresponding story (or story feed) in which the user canpost content. When a user's story is accessed by another user, the storymodule 110 can provide content posted in the story to the other user forviewing. In general, content posted in a user's story may be accessibleby any user of the social networking system. In some embodiments,content posted in a user's story may only be accessible to followers ofthe user. In some embodiments, user stories expire after a pre-definedtime interval (e.g., every 24 hours). In such embodiments, contentposted in stories is treated as ephemeral content that is madeinaccessible once the pre-defined time interval has elapsed. Incontrast, content posted in a user (or follower) content feed can betreated as non-ephemeral content that remains accessible for anindefinite period of time.

In various embodiments, the video compression module 112 is configuredto compress portions of media content items based on various techniques.More details regarding the video compression module 112 will be providedbelow with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a video compression module 202, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the videocompression module 112 of FIG. 1 can be implemented with the videocompression module 202. As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the videocompression module 202 can include a selection module 204 and acompression module 206.

The selection module 204 can provide options for selecting (oridentifying) portions of media content items to be compressed. Forexample, a user can identify a set of frames of a video that capturesubject matter to be preserved. In this example, frames of the videothat are not included in the identified set of frames can be compressedusing various approaches described herein. In some embodiments, a usermay identify portions of a video that need not be preserved. Forexample, a video capturing a person's reaction may include unnecessary(or uninteresting) footage that precedes the reaction. In this example,the user may opt to compress some of the preceding footage so thatportions of the video corresponding to the person's reaction areemphasized. In various embodiments, portions of a video to be compressed(or not to be compressed) can be identified automatically using variousapproaches described herein. More details regarding the selection module204 will be provided below with reference to FIG. 3.

The compression module 206 can compress selected (or designated)portions of videos. In some embodiments, portions of a video can becompressed to accommodate a length-based restriction. For example, auser may want to reduce an overall length of a video from 30 seconds to15 seconds. In this example, respective lengths of any portions of thevideo that were selected for compression can be reduced to satisfy thelength-based restriction. In some embodiments, portions of a video canbe compressed to emphasize (or highlight) other portions of the video.Many variations are possible.

In some embodiments, portions of a video can be defined based on time.For example, a portion may correspond to video footage that spans fromsecond 6 (e.g., 00:00:06) to second 14 (e.g., 00:00:14) of the video. Insuch embodiments, the compression module 206 can compress a portion of avideo by reducing its overall length (or duration). For example, aportion to be compressed may originally be 8 seconds in length. Oncecompression is applied, the length of the portion may be reduced to 4seconds, for example. In some embodiments, such compression may beperformed by adjusting a playback speed corresponding to a givenportion. In some embodiments, the compression may be performed byselectively deleting (or dropping) frames corresponding to a givenportion.

In some embodiments, portions of a video can be defined based on frames.For example, a portion may correspond to video footage that spans from afirst frame (e.g., frame 15) to a second frame (e.g., frame 45) of thevideo. In another example, a portion may be defined by a fixed count offrames (e.g., 30 frames). In such embodiments, a portion of a video canbe compressed by selectively deleting (or dropping) frames thatcorrespond to that portion of the video. For example, a portion spanningfrom a frame 15 to a frame 45 of a video has a total of 30 frames. Whencompressing the portion, in some embodiments, the compression module 206can selectively drop every other frame that corresponds to the portion.As a result, the total number of frames corresponding to the portion canbe reduced from 30 frames to 15 frames. In some embodiments, thecompression module 206 can selectively drop every nth frame of a videoportion with n being some positive number (e.g., every third frame,every twentieth frame, etc.). Naturally, many variations are possible.

FIG. 3 illustrates a selection module 302, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In some embodiments, the selection module 204 ofFIG. 2 can be implemented with the selection module 302. As shown in theexample of FIG. 3, the selection module 302 can include a frame-basedselection module 304, a speech-based selection module 306, anobject-based selection module 308, a sticker-based selection module 310,and a sensor-based selection module 312.

The selection module 302 can provide various options for identifying (ordefining) portions of videos to be compressed (or not to be compressed).Such portions can be identified using various approaches. For example,in some embodiments, the frame-based selection module 304 can provideoptions for identifying a portion of a video as a set of frames. Forexample, a user can identify two or more frames of a video as oneportion of the video that is subject to compression. Alternatively, theuser can identify two or more frames of the video as a portion of thevideo that is not subject to compression. In general, such frames can beidentified through an interface that is provided by a softwareapplication (e.g., a social networking application) running on acomputing device, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 4A. In someembodiments, the frame-based selection module 304 can provide optionsfor adjusting a playback speed corresponding to a selected set offrames. For example, the frame-based selection module 304 can provideoptions for decreasing a playback speed by some multiplier (e.g., ¼x,½x, etc.) or for increasing the playback speed by some multiplier (e.g.,2x, 4x, etc.), as illustrated in the example of FIG. 4B.

In some embodiments, the speech-based selection module 306 can beconfigured to automatically identify portions of a video to becompressed (or not to be compressed) based on detected speech. Forexample, in some embodiments, the speech-based selection module 306 canevaluate audio corresponding to a video to identify portions of thevideo that contain speech (or voices). These identified portions canthen be compressed (or not compressed). For example, in someembodiments, the speech-based selection module 306 can automaticallycompress portions of a video that do not contain human speech. In suchembodiments, the speech-based selection module 306 can identify anyportions of the video that contain human voices. The speech-basedselection module 306 can then designate the remaining portions of thevideo for compression. In instances where speech is not important, thespeech-based selection module 306 can automatically identify portions ofa video that contain human speech and then designate those identifiedportions for compression. Many variations are possible. In general, thespeech-based selection module 306 can implement any generally knownspeech detection technique including, for example, Hidden Markov Modelsand neural network models.

In some embodiments, the object-based selection module 308 can beconfigured to automatically identify portions of a video to becompressed (or not to be compressed) based on objects detected insubject matter captured by the video. For example, in some embodiments,the object-based selection module 308 can automatically compressportions of a video in which pre-defined objects (e.g., human faces) arenot represented. In such embodiments, the object-based selection module308 can identify portions of the video in which the pre-defined objects(e.g., human faces) are represented and then designate the remainingportions of the video for compression. Alternatively, in instances wherepre-defined objects are not relevant, the object-based selection module308 can designate portions in which the objects are represented forcompression. Many variations are possible. In various embodiments, theobject-based selection module 308 can analyze subject matter captured byvideos using various generally known object detection techniques. Forexample, the object-based selection module 308 can implement a trainedmachine learning model (e.g., content classifier) to identify variousobjects represented in videos. In general, the machine learning modelcan be trained to recognize any type of object including, for example,human faces, individuals, activities, products, logos, animals, pointsof interest, or other concepts.

In some embodiments, the sticker-based selection module 310 can be usedto identify portions of a video to be compressed (or not to becompressed) using virtual stickers. For example, the sticker-basedselection module 310 can provide a set of virtual stickers (or graphicaloverlays) that can be inserted during playback of a video. In general,such virtual stickers can be accessible through an interface provided bya software application (e.g., a social networking application) runningon a computing device, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 4C. In someembodiments, the sticker-based selection module 310 can provide a firsttype of virtual sticker that can be applied to identify portions of avideo to be compressed. For example, a user may apply the first type ofvirtual sticker during playback of a given video. Once the virtualsticker is applied, the sticker-based selection module 310 can determinea portion of the video to which the virtual sticker was applied. In someembodiments, the portion can be defined based on a pre-defined range oftime. For example, the portion can include video footage that precedes aframe in which the virtual sticker was applied by a threshold amount oftime (e.g., 2 seconds) and video footage following the frame by athreshold amount of time (e.g., 2 seconds). In this example, the portioncorresponds to some part of the video that spans a length of 4 seconds.Similarly, in some embodiments, the sticker-based selection module 310can provide a second type of virtual sticker that can be applied toidentify portions of the video that should not be compressed. Manyvariations are possible.

In some embodiments, virtual stickers can be applied to perform variousvisual operations. For example, in some embodiments, a virtual stickercan be applied to some portion of a video to increase a zoom levelduring playback of the portion. In another example, in some embodiments,a virtual sticker can be applied (or pinned) to an object in someportion of a video. In such embodiments, the virtual sticker canautomatically be repositioned during playback of the video based onchanges to the object's location. That is, the pinned virtual stickercan follow the object as the object moves during playback of the video.In some embodiments, virtual stickers applied to a video remain visibleto users accessing that video. In such embodiments, the virtual stickerscan serve as graphical overlays that include text, visual content, or acombination thereof. In various embodiments, applied virtual stickerscan be dragged and positioned as desired, for example, by performingvarious touch screen gestures (e.g., drag gesture). In general, a usercan select options to resize applied virtual stickers as desired, forexample, by performing various touch screen gestures (e.g., pinchgesture). In some embodiments, the user can select an option to obtain,or download, different sets of virtual stickers that are availablethrough the social networking system. In some embodiments, the user canselect an option to purchase different sets of virtual stickers that areavailable through the social networking system.

The sensor-based selection module 312 can be configured to automaticallyidentify portions of a video to be compressed (or not to be compressed)based on sensor data. For example, in some embodiments, the sensor-basedselection module 312 can evaluate sensor data (e.g., accelerometer data,gyroscope data, etc.) determined by a computing device used to capture agiven video. In some embodiments, portions of a video during which acomputing device experienced a threshold amount of jitter or angularmovement (e.g., shaky footage), as reflected by the sensor data, canautomatically be compressed by the sensor-based selection module 312.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example 400 of an interface 404, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the interface 404is presented through a display screen of a computing device 402.Further, the interface 404 may be provided through an application (e.g.,a web browser, a social networking application, messenger application,etc.) running on the computing device 402 that is configured to interactwith a social networking system. In the example of FIG. 4A, theinterface 404 is presenting a media content item (e.g., video) 406 to becompressed. In various embodiments, the interface 404 provides optionsfor selecting portions of the video 406 to be compressed (or not to becompressed). In the example of FIG. 4A, a user operating the computingdevice 402 can interact with the interface 404 to select a set of frames408. The set of frames 408 may be selected using touchscreen gestures,for example. The user can then specify whether the selected frames 408should be preserved (e.g., not compressed) or should not be preserved(e.g., compressed). For example, in some embodiments, the user canadjust a playback speed corresponding to the selected frames 408, asillustrated in FIG. 4B. In some embodiments, the interface 404 canprovide options 410 for decreasing a playback speed by some rate (e.g.,¼x, ½x, etc.) or for increasing the playback speed by some rate (e.g.,2x, 4x, etc.) as illustrated in the example of FIG. 4B. Many variationsare possible.

FIG. 4C illustrates an example interface 414 presented on the displayscreen of the computing device 402. In this example, the interface 414includes a tray 418 from which virtual stickers can be selected andinserted into the video 406. These virtual stickers can be inserted toperform various operations such as compressing portions of the video orvisually modifying portions of the video, as described above. In theexample of FIG. 4C, the user operating the computing device 402 hasassociated a virtual sticker 420 with a set of selected frames 416.Here, the virtual sticker 420 is being used to designate frames to becompressed. As a result, the selected set of frames 416 can becompressed using any of the approaches described above. Many variationsare possible.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500, according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. It should be appreciated that there can beadditional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar oralternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the variousembodiments discussed herein unless otherwise stated.

At block 502, a video being posted through a social networking systemcan be determined. At block 504, one or more portions of the video to becompressed can be determined. At block 506, the one or more portions ofthe video can be compressed, wherein, upon being compressed, at leastone frame corresponding to at least one of the portions is deleted.

It is contemplated that there can be many other uses, applications,and/or variations associated with the various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. For example, in some cases, user can choose whether or notto opt-in to utilize the disclosed technology. The disclosed technologycan also ensure that various privacy settings and preferences aremaintained and can prevent private information from being divulged. Inanother example, various embodiments of the present disclosure canlearn, improve, and/or be refined over time.

Social Networking System-Example Implementation

FIG. 6 illustrates a network diagram of an example system 600 that canbe utilized in various scenarios, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The system 600 includes one or more user devices610, one or more external systems 620, a social networking system (orservice) 630, and a network 650. In an embodiment, the social networkingservice, provider, and/or system discussed in connection with theembodiments described above may be implemented as the social networkingsystem 630. For purposes of illustration, the embodiment of the system600, shown by FIG. 6, includes a single external system 620 and a singleuser device 610. However, in other embodiments, the system 600 mayinclude more user devices 610 and/or more external systems 620. Incertain embodiments, the social networking system 630 is operated by asocial network provider, whereas the external systems 620 are separatefrom the social networking system 630 in that they may be operated bydifferent entities. In various embodiments, however, the socialnetworking system 630 and the external systems 620 operate inconjunction to provide social networking services to users (or members)of the social networking system 630. In this sense, the socialnetworking system 630 provides a platform or backbone, which othersystems, such as external systems 620, may use to provide socialnetworking services and functionalities to users across the Internet.

The user device 610 comprises one or more computing devices (or systems)that can receive input from a user and transmit and receive data via thenetwork 650. In one embodiment, the user device 610 is a conventionalcomputer system executing, for example, a Microsoft Windows compatibleoperating system (OS), Apple OS X, and/or a Linux distribution. Inanother embodiment, the user device 610 can be a computing device or adevice having computer functionality, such as a smart-phone, a tablet, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a laptop computer,a wearable device (e.g., a pair of glasses, a watch, a bracelet, etc.),a camera, an appliance, etc. The user device 610 is configured tocommunicate via the network 650. The user device 610 can execute anapplication, for example, a browser application that allows a user ofthe user device 610 to interact with the social networking system 630.In another embodiment, the user device 610 interacts with the socialnetworking system 630 through an application programming interface (API)provided by the native operating system of the user device 610, such asiOS and ANDROID. The user device 610 is configured to communicate withthe external system 620 and the social networking system 630 via thenetwork 650, which may comprise any combination of local area and/orwide area networks, using wired and/or wireless communication systems.

In one embodiment, the network 650 uses standard communicationstechnologies and protocols. Thus, the network 650 can include linksusing technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwide interoperabilityfor microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, CDMA, GSM, LTE, digital subscriberline (DSL), etc. Similarly, the networking protocols used on the network650 can include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmissioncontrol protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol(UDP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transferprotocol (SMTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and the like. The dataexchanged over the network 650 can be represented using technologiesand/or formats including hypertext markup language (HTML) and extensiblemarkup language (XML). In addition, all or some links can be encryptedusing conventional encryption technologies such as secure sockets layer(SSL), transport layer security (TLS), and Internet Protocol security(IPsec).

In one embodiment, the user device 610 may display content from theexternal system 620 and/or from the social networking system 630 byprocessing a markup language document 614 received from the externalsystem 620 and from the social networking system 630 using a browserapplication 612. The markup language document 614 identifies content andone or more instructions describing formatting or presentation of thecontent. By executing the instructions included in the markup languagedocument 614, the browser application 612 displays the identifiedcontent using the format or presentation described by the markuplanguage document 614. For example, the markup language document 614includes instructions for generating and displaying a web page havingmultiple frames that include text and/or image data retrieved from theexternal system 620 and the social networking system 630. In variousembodiments, the markup language document 614 comprises a data fileincluding extensible markup language (XML) data, extensible hypertextmarkup language (XHTML) data, or other markup language data.Additionally, the markup language document 614 may include JavaScriptObject Notation (JSON) data, JSON with padding (JSONP), and JavaScriptdata to facilitate data-interchange between the external system 620 andthe user device 610. The browser application 612 on the user device 610may use a JavaScript compiler to decode the markup language document614.

The markup language document 614 may also include, or link to,applications or application frameworks such as FLASH™ or Unity ^(TM)applications, the Silverlight™ application framework, etc.

In one embodiment, the user device 610 also includes one or more cookies616 including data indicating whether a user of the user device 610 islogged into the social networking system 630, which may enablemodification of the data communicated from the social networking system630 to the user device 610.

The external system 620 includes one or more web servers that includeone or more web pages 622 a, 622 b, which are communicated to the userdevice 610 using the network 650. The external system 620 is separatefrom the social networking system 630. For example, the external system620 is associated with a first domain, while the social networkingsystem 630 is associated with a separate social networking domain. Webpages 622 a, 622 b, included in the external system 620, comprise markuplanguage documents 614 identifying content and including instructionsspecifying formatting or presentation of the identified content. Asdiscussed previously, it should be appreciated that there can be manyvariations or other possibilities.

The social networking system 630 includes one or more computing devicesfor a social network, including a plurality of users, and providingusers of the social network with the ability to communicate and interactwith other users of the social network. In some instances, the socialnetwork can be represented by a graph, i.e., a data structure includingedges and nodes. Other data structures can also be used to represent thesocial network, including but not limited to databases, objects,classes, meta elements, files, or any other data structure. The socialnetworking system 630 may be administered, managed, or controlled by anoperator. The operator of the social networking system 630 may be ahuman being, an automated application, or a series of applications formanaging content, regulating policies, and collecting usage metricswithin the social networking system 630. Any type of operator may beused.

Users may join the social networking system 630 and then add connectionsto any number of other users of the social networking system 630 to whomthey desire to be connected. As used herein, the term “friend” refers toany other user of the social networking system 630 to whom a user hasformed a connection, association, or relationship via the socialnetworking system 630. For example, in an embodiment, if users in thesocial networking system 630 are represented as nodes in the socialgraph, the term “friend” can refer to an edge formed between anddirectly connecting two user nodes.

Connections may be added explicitly by a user or may be automaticallycreated by the social networking system 630 based on commoncharacteristics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of the sameeducational institution). For example, a first user specifically selectsa particular other user to be a friend. Connections in the socialnetworking system 630 are usually in both directions, but need not be,so the terms “user” and “friend” depend on the frame of reference.Connections between users of the social networking system 630 areusually bilateral (“two-way”), or “mutual,” but connections may also beunilateral, or “one-way.” For example, if Bob and Joe are both users ofthe social networking system 630 and connected to each other, Bob andJoe are each other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob wishes toconnect to Joe to view data communicated to the social networking system630 by Joe, but Joe does not wish to form a mutual connection, aunilateral connection may be established. The connection between usersmay be a direct connection; however, some embodiments of the socialnetworking system 630 allow the connection to be indirect via one ormore levels of connections or degrees of separation.

In addition to establishing and maintaining connections between usersand allowing interactions between users, the social networking system630 provides users with the ability to take actions on various types ofitems supported by the social networking system 630. These items mayinclude groups or networks (i.e., social networks of people, entities,and concepts) to which users of the social networking system 630 maybelong, events or calendar entries in which a user might be interested,computer-based applications that a user may use via the socialnetworking system 630, transactions that allow users to buy or sellitems via services provided by or through the social networking system630, and interactions with advertisements that a user may perform on oroff the social networking system 630. These are just a few examples ofthe items upon which a user may act on the social networking system 630,and many others are possible. A user may interact with anything that iscapable of being represented in the social networking system 630 or inthe external system 620, separate from the social networking system 630,or coupled to the social networking system 630 via the network 650.

The social networking system 630 is also capable of linking a variety ofentities. For example, the social networking system 630 enables users tointeract with each other as well as external systems 620 or otherentities through an API, a web service, or other communication channels.The social networking system 630 generates and maintains the “socialgraph” comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected by a plurality ofedges. Each node in the social graph may represent an entity that canact on another node and/or that can be acted on by another node. Thesocial graph may include various types of nodes. Examples of types ofnodes include users, non-person entities, content items, web pages,groups, activities, messages, concepts, and any other things that can berepresented by an object in the social networking system 630. An edgebetween two nodes in the social graph may represent a particular kind ofconnection, or association, between the two nodes, which may result fromnode relationships or from an action that was performed by one of thenodes on the other node. In some cases, the edges between nodes can beweighted. The weight of an edge can represent an attribute associatedwith the edge, such as a strength of the connection or associationbetween nodes. Different types of edges can be provided with differentweights. For example, an edge created when one user “likes” another usermay be given one weight, while an edge created when a user befriendsanother user may be given a different weight.

As an example, when a first user identifies a second user as a friend,an edge in the social graph is generated connecting a node representingthe first user and a second node representing the second user. Asvarious nodes relate or interact with each other, the social networkingsystem 630 modifies edges connecting the various nodes to reflect therelationships and interactions.

The social networking system 630 also includes user-generated content,which enhances a user's interactions with the social networking system630. User-generated content may include anything a user can add, upload,send, or “post” to the social networking system 630. For example, a usercommunicates posts to the social networking system 630 from a userdevice 610. Posts may include data such as status updates or othertextual data, location information, images such as photos, videos,links, music or other similar data and/or media. Content may also beadded to the social networking system 630 by a third party. Content“items” are represented as objects in the social networking system 630.In this way, users of the social networking system 630 are encouraged tocommunicate with each other by posting text and content items of varioustypes of media through various communication channels.

Such communication increases the interaction of users with each otherand increases the frequency with which users interact with the socialnetworking system 630.

The social networking system 630 includes a web server 632, an APIrequest server 634, a user profile store 636, a connection store 638, anaction logger 640, an activity log 642, and an authorization server 644.In an embodiment of the invention, the social networking system 630 mayinclude additional, fewer, or different components for variousapplications. Other components, such as network interfaces, securitymechanisms, load balancers, failover servers, management and networkoperations consoles, and the like are not shown so as to not obscure thedetails of the system.

The user profile store 636 maintains information about user accounts,including biographic, demographic, and other types of descriptiveinformation, such as work experience, educational history, hobbies orpreferences, location, and the like that has been declared by users orinferred by the social networking system 630. This information is storedin the user profile store 636 such that each user is uniquelyidentified. The social networking system 630 also stores data describingone or more connections between different users in the connection store638. The connection information may indicate users who have similar orcommon work experience, group memberships, hobbies, or educationalhistory. Additionally, the social networking system 630 includesuser-defined connections between different users, allowing users tospecify their relationships with other users. For example, user-definedconnections allow users to generate relationships with other users thatparallel the users' real-life relationships, such as friends,co-workers, partners, and so forth. Users may select from predefinedtypes of connections, or define their own connection types as needed.Connections with other nodes in the social networking system 630, suchas non-person entities, buckets, cluster centers, images, interests,pages, external systems, concepts, and the like are also stored in theconnection store 638.

The social networking system 630 maintains data about objects with whicha user may interact. To maintain this data, the user profile store 636and the connection store 638 store instances of the corresponding typeof objects maintained by the social networking system 630. Each objecttype has information fields that are suitable for storing informationappropriate to the type of object. For example, the user profile store636 contains data structures with fields suitable for describing auser's account and information related to a user's account. When a newobject of a particular type is created, the social networking system 630initializes a new data structure of the corresponding type, assigns aunique object identifier to it, and begins to add data to the object asneeded. This might occur, for example, when a user becomes a user of thesocial networking system 630, the social networking system 630 generatesa new instance of a user profile in the user profile store 636, assignsa unique identifier to the user account, and begins to populate thefields of the user account with information provided by the user.

The connection store 638 includes data structures suitable fordescribing a user's connections to other users, connections to externalsystems 620 or connections to other entities. The connection store 638may also associate a connection type with a user's connections, whichmay be used in conjunction with the user's privacy setting to regulateaccess to information about the user. In an embodiment of the invention,the user profile store 636 and the connection store 638 may beimplemented as a federated database.

Data stored in the connection store 638, the user profile store 636, andthe activity log 642 enables the social networking system 630 togenerate the social graph that uses nodes to identify various objectsand edges connecting nodes to identify relationships between differentobjects. For example, if a first user establishes a connection with asecond user in the social networking system 630, user accounts of thefirst user and the second user from the user profile store 636 may actas nodes in the social graph. The connection between the first user andthe second user stored by the connection store 638 is an edge betweenthe nodes associated with the first user and the second user. Continuingthis example, the second user may then send the first user a messagewithin the social networking system 630. The action of sending themessage, which may be stored, is another edge between the two nodes inthe social graph representing the first user and the second user.Additionally, the message itself may be identified and included in thesocial graph as another node connected to the nodes representing thefirst user and the second user.

In another example, a first user may tag a second user in an image thatis maintained by the social networking system 630 (or, alternatively, inan image maintained by another system outside of the social networkingsystem 630). The image may itself be represented as a node in the socialnetworking system 630. This tagging action may create edges between thefirst user and the second user as well as create an edge between each ofthe users and the image, which is also a node in the social graph. Inyet another example, if a user confirms attending an event, the user andthe event are nodes obtained from the user profile store 636, where theattendance of the event is an edge between the nodes that may beretrieved from the activity log 642. By generating and maintaining thesocial graph, the social networking system 630 includes data describingmany different types of objects and the interactions and connectionsamong those objects, providing a rich source of socially relevantinformation.

The web server 632 links the social networking system 630 to one or moreuser devices 610 and/or one or more external systems 620 via the network650. The web server 632 serves web pages, as well as other web-relatedcontent, such as Java, JavaScript, Flash, XML, and so forth. The webserver 632 may include a mail server or other messaging functionalityfor receiving and routing messages between the social networking system630 and one or more user devices 610. The messages can be instantmessages, queued messages (e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or anyother suitable messaging format.

The API request server 634 allows one or more external systems 620 anduser devices 610 to call access information from the social networkingsystem 630 by calling one or more API functions. The API request server634 may also allow external systems 620 to send information to thesocial networking system 630 by calling APIs. The external system 620,in one embodiment, sends an API request to the social networking system630 via the network 650, and the API request server 634 receives the APIrequest. The API request server 634 processes the request by calling anAPI associated with the API request to generate an appropriate response,which the API request server 634 communicates to the external system 620via the network 650. For example, responsive to an API request, the APIrequest server 634 collects data associated with a user, such as theuser's connections that have logged into the external system 620, andcommunicates the collected data to the external system 620. In anotherembodiment, the user device 610 communicates with the social networkingsystem 630 via APIs in the same manner as external systems 620.

The action logger 640 is capable of receiving communications from theweb server 632 about user actions on and/or off the social networkingsystem 630. The action logger 640 populates the activity log 642 withinformation about user actions, enabling the social networking system630 to discover various actions taken by its users within the socialnetworking system 630 and outside of the social networking system 630.Any action that a particular user takes with respect to another node onthe social networking system 630 may be associated with each user'saccount, through information maintained in the activity log 642 or in asimilar database or other data repository. Examples of actions taken bya user within the social networking system 630 that are identified andstored may include, for example, adding a connection to another user,sending a message to another user, reading a message from another user,viewing content associated with another user, attending an event postedby another user, posting an image, attempting to post an image, or otheractions interacting with another user or another object. When a usertakes an action within the social networking system 630, the action isrecorded in the activity log 642. In one embodiment, the socialnetworking system 630 maintains the activity log 642 as a database ofentries. When an action is taken within the social networking system630, an entry for the action is added to the activity log 642. Theactivity log 642 may be referred to as an action log.

Additionally, user actions may be associated with concepts and actionsthat occur within an entity outside of the social networking system 630,such as an external system 620 that is separate from the socialnetworking system 630. For example, the action logger 640 may receivedata describing a user's interaction with an external system 620 fromthe web server 632. In this example, the external system 620 reports auser's interaction according to structured actions and objects in thesocial graph.

Other examples of actions where a user interacts with an external system620 include a user expressing an interest in an external system 620 oranother entity, a user posting a comment to the social networking system630 that discusses an external system 620 or a web page 622 a within theexternal system 620, a user posting to the social networking system 630a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or other identifier associated with anexternal system 620, a user attending an event associated with anexternal system 620, or any other action by a user that is related to anexternal system 620. Thus, the activity log 642 may include actionsdescribing interactions between a user of the social networking system630 and an external system 620 that is separate from the socialnetworking system 630.

The authorization server 644 enforces one or more privacy settings ofthe users of the social networking system 630. A privacy setting of auser determines how particular information associated with a user can beshared. The privacy setting comprises the specification of particularinformation associated with a user and the specification of the entityor entities with whom the information can be shared. Examples ofentities with which information can be shared may include other users,applications, external systems 620, or any entity that can potentiallyaccess the information. The information that can be shared by a usercomprises user account information, such as profile photos, phonenumbers associated with the user, user's connections, actions taken bythe user such as adding a connection, changing user profile information,and the like.

The privacy setting specification may be provided at different levels ofgranularity. For example, the privacy setting may identify specificinformation to be shared with other users; the privacy settingidentifies a work phone number or a specific set of related information,such as, personal information including profile photo, home phonenumber, and status. Alternatively, the privacy setting may apply to allthe information associated with the user. The specification of the setof entities that can access particular information can also be specifiedat various levels of granularity. Various sets of entities with whichinformation can be shared may include, for example, all friends of theuser, all friends of friends, all applications, or all external systems620. One embodiment allows the specification of the set of entities tocomprise an enumeration of entities. For example, the user may provide alist of external systems 620 that are allowed to access certaininformation. Another embodiment allows the specification to comprise aset of entities along with exceptions that are not allowed to access theinformation. For example, a user may allow all external systems 620 toaccess the user's work information, but specify a list of externalsystems 620 that are not allowed to access the work information. Certainembodiments call the list of exceptions that are not allowed to accesscertain information a “block list”. External systems 620 belonging to ablock list specified by a user are blocked from accessing theinformation specified in the privacy setting. Various combinations ofgranularity of specification of information, and granularity ofspecification of entities, with which information is shared arepossible. For example, all personal information may be shared withfriends whereas all work information may be shared with friends offriends.

The authorization server 644 contains logic to determine if certaininformation associated with a user can be accessed by a user's friends,external systems 620, and/or other applications and entities. Theexternal system 620 may need authorization from the authorization server644 to access the user's more private and sensitive information, such asthe user's work phone number. Based on the user's privacy settings, theauthorization server 644 determines if another user, the external system620, an application, or another entity is allowed to access informationassociated with the user, including information about actions taken bythe user.

In some embodiments, the social networking system 630 can include acontent provider module 646. The content provider module 646 can, forexample, be implemented as the content provider module 102 of FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, a video compression module 618, in whole or in part,is implemented in the user device 610. The video compression module 618can, for example, be implemented as the video compression module 112 ofFIG. 1. As discussed previously, it should be appreciated that there canbe many variations or other possibilities.

Hardware Implementation

The foregoing processes and features can be implemented by a widevariety of machine and computer system architectures and in a widevariety of network and computing environments. FIG. 7 illustrates anexample of a computer system 700 that may be used to implement one ormore of the embodiments described herein in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The computer system 700 includes sets ofinstructions for causing the computer system 700 to perform theprocesses and features discussed herein. The computer system 700 may beconnected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the computer system 700 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine or a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. In an embodiment of the invention, the computersystem 700 may be the social networking system 630, the user device 610,and the external system 720, or a component thereof. In an embodiment ofthe invention, the computer system 700 may be one server among many thatconstitutes all or part of the social networking system 630.

The computer system 700 includes a processor 702, a cache 704, and oneor more executable modules and drivers, stored on a computer-readablemedium, directed to the processes and features described herein.Additionally, the computer system 700 includes a high performanceinput/output (I/O) bus 706 and a standard I/O bus 708. A host bridge 710couples processor 702 to high performance I/O bus 706, whereas I/O busbridge 712 couples the two buses 706 and 708 to each other. A systemmemory 714 and one or more network interfaces 716 couple to highperformance I/O bus 706. The computer system 700 may further includevideo memory and a display device coupled to the video memory (notshown). Mass storage 718 and I/O ports 720 couple to the standard I/Obus 708. The computer system 700 may optionally include a keyboard andpointing device, a display device, or other input/output devices (notshown) coupled to the standard I/O bus 708. Collectively, these elementsare intended to represent a broad category of computer hardware systems,including but not limited to computer systems based on thex86-compatible processors manufactured by Intel Corporation of SantaClara, Calif., and the x86-compatible processors manufactured byAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD), Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., as well as anyother suitable processor.

An operating system manages and controls the operation of the computersystem 700, including the input and output of data to and from softwareapplications (not shown). The operating system provides an interfacebetween the software applications being executed on the system and thehardware components of the system. Any suitable operating system may beused, such as the LINUX Operating System, the Apple Macintosh OperatingSystem, available from Apple Computer Inc. of Cupertino, California,UNIX operating systems, Microsoft® Windows® operating systems, BSDoperating systems, and the like. Other implementations are possible.

The elements of the computer system 700 are described in greater detailbelow. In particular, the network interface 716 provides communicationbetween the computer system 700 and any of a wide range of networks,such as an Ethernet (e.g., IEEE 802.3) network, a backplane, etc. Themass storage 718 provides permanent storage for the data and programminginstructions to perform the above-described processes and featuresimplemented by the respective computing systems identified above,whereas the system memory 714 (e.g., DRAM) provides temporary storagefor the data and programming instructions when executed by the processor702. The I/O ports 720 may be one or more serial and/or parallelcommunication ports that provide communication between additionalperipheral devices, which may be coupled to the computer system 700.

The computer system 700 may include a variety of system architectures,and various components of the computer system 700 may be rearranged. Forexample, the cache 704 may be on-chip with processor 702. Alternatively,the cache 704 and the processor 702 may be packed together as a“processor module”, with processor 702 being referred to as the“processor core”. Furthermore, certain embodiments of the invention mayneither require nor include all of the above components. For example,peripheral devices coupled to the standard I/O bus 708 may couple to thehigh performance I/O bus 706. In addition, in some embodiments, only asingle bus may exist, with the components of the computer system 700being coupled to the single bus. Moreover, the computer system 700 mayinclude additional components, such as additional processors, storagedevices, or memories.

In general, the processes and features described herein may beimplemented as part of an operating system or a specific application,component, program, object, module, or series of instructions referredto as “programs”. For example, one or more programs may be used toexecute specific processes described herein. The programs typicallycomprise one or more instructions in various memory and storage devicesin the computer system 700 that, when read and executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the computer system 700 to perform operations toexecute the processes and features described herein. The processes andfeatures described herein may be implemented in software, firmware,hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit), or anycombination thereof.

In one implementation, the processes and features described herein areimplemented as a series of executable modules run by the computer system700, individually or collectively in a distributed computingenvironment. The foregoing modules may be realized by hardware,executable modules stored on a computer-readable medium (ormachine-readable medium), or a combination of both. For example, themodules may comprise a plurality or series of instructions to beexecuted by a processor in a hardware system, such as the processor 702.Initially, the series of instructions may be stored on a storage device,such as the mass storage 718. However, the series of instructions can bestored on any suitable computer readable storage medium. Furthermore,the series of instructions need not be stored locally, and could bereceived from a remote storage device, such as a server on a network,via the network interface 716. The instructions are copied from thestorage device, such as the mass storage 718, into the system memory 714and then accessed and executed by the processor 702. In variousimplementations, a module or modules can be executed by a processor ormultiple processors in one or multiple locations, such as multipleservers in a parallel processing environment.

Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to,recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices;solid state memories; floppy and other removable disks; hard diskdrives; magnetic media; optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-OnlyMemory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs)); other similarnon-transitory (or transitory), tangible (or non-tangible) storagemedium; or any type of medium suitable for storing, encoding, orcarrying a series of instructions for execution by the computer system700 to perform any one or more of the processes and features describedherein.

For purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the description. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of thedisclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In someinstances, modules, structures, processes, features, and devices areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the description.In other instances, functional block diagrams and flow diagrams areshown to represent data and logic flows. The components of blockdiagrams and flow diagrams (e.g., modules, blocks, structures, devices,features, etc.) may be variously combined, separated, removed,reordered, and replaced in a manner other than as expressly describedand depicted herein.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”,“other embodiments”, “one series of embodiments”, “some embodiments”,“various embodiments”, or the like means that a particular feature,design, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of, for example, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in anembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, whetheror not there is express reference to an “embodiment” or the like,various features are described, which may be variously combined andincluded in some embodiments, but also variously omitted in otherembodiments. Similarly, various features are described that may bepreferences or requirements for some embodiments, but not otherembodiments.

The language used herein has been principally selected for readabilityand instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected todelineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is thereforeintended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detaileddescription, but rather by any claims that issue on an application basedhereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the inventionis intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of theinvention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:determining, by a computing system, a video being posted through asocial networking system; determining, by the computing system, one ormore portions of the video to be compressed; and compressing, by thecomputing system, the one or more portions of the video, wherein, uponbeing compressed, at least one frame corresponding to at least one ofthe portions is deleted.